February 22, 2018 ~ Lenten Reflections (English & Espanol)

The Church is celebrating today the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter. The Chair of St. Peter symbolizes the unity and universality of our faith. It also reminds us that our faith or the Church is not just an invention of a person with noble ideas but is really a work of God, founded by Jesus Christ himself. From Christ, he passed on this ministry to Peter and to his successors. The Chair of Peter or the Papacy is usually perceived as the principal seat of power and authority in the Church but its true essence lies in loving service, taking its inspiration from Christ himself, who served the whole humanity par excellence as there is no greater service than to lay down one's life for one's friend.

That is why as the successor of Christ here on earth, one of the main official titles of the Pope is "the Servant of the Servants of God". For us, who find ourselves thousands of miles away from the Chair of Peter, this feast reminds us that there is more beyond our parish life here in Beaverton and that we are part of a bigger reality. Our pilgrimage to our eternal home is not a solo flight but with rest of the faith community, united under the guidance of “Peter”, leading us to answer, out of a personal encounter the question of Jesus in today’s gospel “Who do you say that I am?”